MASTER THESIS
SHADOW OF A DOUBT
AMOS PELED
ABSTRACT (Full-text bellow)
A shadow of doubt allows a critical perspective on the foundations of the world, allows one to pull off the glasses of mathematics and complete forms. In my research, I will try to break down the fundamentals of the shadow of a doubt in order to addres DNA of information. The expression ‘beyond a shadow of a doubt’ or, more commonly expressed in the past, ‘without a doubt’ originated in England in the 18th century. The expression shadow of a doubt describes a situation in which the speaker is completely sure that something is right, with no possibility of ambiguity.
The shadow in shadow of a doubt suggests a possibility that something that we are not doubting about can still contain an option for the difference, as doubt has its shadow, another chance for ambiguity. Shadow is used in connection to doubt due to fundamental characteristics of the shadow in our allegoric perception - the dark, non-descriptive, lack of substance, hard to grasp, a hint. The terminology beyond a shadow of a doubt applied that in order for one to be convinced it is not enough not to doubt about a presented idea, these one should also go beyond the shadow of a doubt. The expression when used: “I am sure beyond the shadow of a doubt” describes a submissive and hypnotic state, with no possibility of free action.
A shadow is a two-dimensional representation of the three-dimensional, a shadow omits a dimension from the world, and represents only the contours of a being, without its volume, a shadow can represent the essence in varying magnitude, several times, in varying sharpness. A poor or not clear representation of reality. Towards the end of the day the shadow lengthens, becomes clearer, blacker. Doubt is empty, it is the middle ground between the familiar and the unfamiliar, it is fundamental for evolution (evolution in the context of mutations, if a species evolution will be without a shadow of a doubt the species will extinct) Doubt as used in the shadow of a doubt is a sense of contradiction to the truth that arises in the passage of information. But doubt can be more than a contradiction to the truth, a by-product engraved in the existence of things. Anything that exists carries with it a shadow. Shadow is changing not only by the object that its cast from but also by the source of light and the object on which the shadow is cast upon. The state of a shadow is affected by more factors than the state of the object that creates it. Shadow has a negative connotation. For example, the use of the shadow as “he is only a shadow of who he once was” or “he fell into the world of shadows” the lack of light, the darkness, the unconscious, the frightening. Although shadow is an integral part of the existence of an object. If to think about the sentence he is only a shadow of what he used to be, the former “he” is still there.
So as one knows or believes something beyond a shadow of a doubt, one is certain. But it’s a problematic idea, this situation describes “blind” faith - blind as not seeing nor the light nor the shadow...
I’m trying to convey in this body of text an angle of processing in which one can be in a state ‘with a shadow of a doubt’.
Precisely then, at looking at the attempt to persuade a person closer to acceptance of the difference - With a shadow of a doubt, shows that the person is not experiencing a negative and strong doubt about the idea. These are shadows of a doubt - hinting at the alternative reflection. A shadow takes the shape of the object on which it is projected and casts the contours of doubt.
I look at doubt as a basic sense in our belief system, greater than one that reveals in advance that something will probably not work, those from the empty place inside - a new idea arises. The same doubt that is perceived as a negative thing in society as a lack of trust can be a potential.
A shadow of a doubt comes to mind when something familiar contains within it what we take as a mismatch to our cognitions and observations, in other words, the unfamiliar. It is not easy to look at something familiar from a different angle, we are very connected to our belief system, and to the world of normal things. Even if we have doubts about something we are familiar with, we will prefer to put the doubt aside because doubting requires re-scanning of our understanding, requires activism, and raising thought. By doubting there is a space to look at an object’s poetic, profound essence and not at the object itself.
"you are returning from a long trip back to your room, to the most familiar space. When you first enter the room the physical dimension feels suddenly foreign, the space that is imprinted deepest in the place cells* in the brain becomes curved, not bigger not smaller. Different...You place your bag on the side and sit down where the physical shape of your body has been assimilated into a foreign object. Before everything is enough to return to the normal dimension you look to the other end. A place you have never seen....a hidden layer of blue under your peeling wall. You start to wonder what's under the blue...scratching the wall for a few hours, discovering all colors of light, history itself, and layers of physical knowledge. A hole is created in the wall, a hole that leads to the neighbors' apartment, to a world that does not belong to you at all"